YOU’RE INVITED! DAVID PLOUFFE headlines PLAYBOOK LUNCH on Monday – noon at the Capital Hilton. Plouffe, now a Bloomberg contributor and strategic adviser, managed President Obama’s 2008 campaign, then was senior adviser in the White House during the reelection. Plouffe, author of “The Audacity to Win,” will go behind the scenes of next week’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum, the largest-ever gathering of African heads of state on U.S. soil; discuss Obama’s remaining policy goals and options; and give an inside take on the midterms and 2016. Outside cameras and correspondents welcome. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1uEIF1q

“ERIC CANTOR’S FINAL DAYS,” by Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer: “The Virginia Republican will soon trade his grand second-floor Capitol suite — with its massive conference room and flat-screen televisions displaying a Twitter feed — for a smaller hideaway elsewhere in the building. Steve Scalise, the Louisianan who will be the next majority whip, already has ideas about how he’ll divvy up Cantor’s old space. Cantor has missed the Republican leadership meetings he once helped lead, even though they are held just steps from his office. He’s even skipped some votes on the House floor. It’s an anticlimactic end to Cantor’s meteoric rise. His tenure as majority leader … will close quietly on Thursday.

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“One of the most dominant figures on Capitol Hill until his shocking primary loss in June, Cantor will spend the rest of this Congress as a member of the GOP rank and file. Already, Scalise and Kevin McCarthy, the incoming majority leader, have taken on most of Cantor’s responsibilities. … McCarthy is hiring Cantor’s well-respected policy director Neil Bradley, his foreign policy aide Robert Karem and his senior policy aide Roger Mahan. Scalise is bringing on Cantor’s senior policy adviser, Nicole Gustafson.

“Cantor’s mammoth organization includes at least two dozen people who believed they were serving the next speaker of the House. Some … are searching for new jobs but few have landed … Doug Heye, Cantor’s deputy chief of staff, is scheduled to appear in the coming days on ‘Real Time with Bill Maher.’ Cantor’s colleagues are looking to usher him out of leadership with grace. McCarthy will host a reception honoring Cantor at the Capitol Hill Club that will be open only to members of Congress. Many colleagues are chipping in to help cover the costs of Cantor’s sprawling political organization. Cantor’s budget … is being cut so drastically that Speaker Boehner is paying to keep some of his aides employed until the end of August.

“[Yesterday,] at a weekly gathering of House Republicans, Cantor sat in a basement room in the Capitol … one last time as majority leader. Washington state Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the No. 4 House Republican, played a Hollywood-style highlight reel of Cantor’s career. … It ended with his name and title on the screen, until it faded to black.” http://politi.co/1o31Yw5

2016 -- CHRISTIE CHRONICLES -- “Dead man walking or comeback kid?” by Maggie Haberman: “[A]s he heads to New Hampshire [tomorrow] for his second trip to an early presidential state this month [Iowa two weeks ago], nearly a dozen aides, top supporters and early-state activists [said] … they believe the New Jersey governor actually does have a political pulse — and that the ingredients exist if not for a full comeback, then at least a chance to be taken seriously again as a presidential hopeful. Among the factors they point to: No smoking gun has emerged in Bridgegate. No one has replaced him as the early Republican front-runner in 2016. A big chunk of the Republican establishment remains dead set against Rand Paul. …

“[E]ven absent the traffic scandal, Christie [could] be too damaged by New Jersey’s tattered economy and broken pension system to return to the top tier … ‘All of these investigations [into Bridgegate] … if there was something of any consequence, you can be sure somebody would have leaked it,’ said Ken Langone, the co-founder of Home Depot and one of Christie’s major backers … Yet … some Republicans doubt it can work. … ‘[H]is one trick, which used to be adorable and fun — that he would piss off the news media and speak truth to power — now often comes across as bullying and boorish,’ said Republican strategist Alex Castellanos …

“Some … backers say Christie could benefit from fear within the Republican establishment that a movement will coalesce around Paul — a libertarian conservative often described as the most interesting figure in the Republican Party at the moment, but one many donors see as too dovish on foreign policy, among other worries. ‘If we nominate Rand Paul, we’re going to get Mondale — we’ll win one state,’ said Anthony Carbonetti, a longtime top adviser to … Rudy Giuliani who is close with Christie.” http://politi.co/1s1VHT3

--MARK LEIBOVICH column in upcoming Times Magazine, “I ♥ IOWA: How one state turned its adorable little caucus into a year-round tourist destination”: “It would be one thing if all of this early activity and attention in Iowa resulted in a smarter electorate, better candidates or a more authentic version of democracy. But in general, the quaint ‘retail’ settings of Iowa diners and New Hampshire living rooms are treated mostly as media sound stages, places where reporters report on how many other reporters showed up … As a result, these scenes have become backdrops for set pieces that blur into an anesthetizing noise: So-and-so has been to Iowa five times; some other so-and-so is ‘thinking about’ running for president; and here’s yet another picture of yet another so-and-so looking a voter right in the eyes and telling him the truth about something or other.” http://nyti.ms/1nSQnBr

-- “Rand Paul planning 2015 book. Mean anything?” by the (Louisville) Courier-Journal’s James R. Carroll: “Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is working on a new book that will come out early next year - about the same time he will decide whether to run for president. ‘Just coincidence, probably just coincidence, yeah,’ the Republican said, chuckling in a recent interview with The Courier-Journal. The publisher has not yet announced the upcoming book and Paul was reluctant to share the working title. But he said the possible subtitle was ‘Beyond Partisanship.’” http://cjky.it/1ppE6Te

--“How Ted Cruz Trolls Obama’s Foreign Policy,” by The Daily Beast’s Eli Lake: “One way to understand Ted Cruz’s foreign policy, particularly if you are a Democrat, is through the prism of the social media phenomenon known as trolling. The best trolls are provocateurs. Their language is meant to expose a fallacy or weakness in the opponent’s position as opposed to offering a constructive alternative. … [But despite] the barbs and the major differences between Cruz and Obama, the two politicians both agree that America should be out of the nation-building business. … Ted Cruz is an American exceptionalist who is wary of remaking the world in America’s exceptional image.” http://thebea.st/1s1h8Uu

CHARLIE HURT COLUMN, “Impeaching Obama is a losing strategy for the GOP”: “All this talk of impeaching the president is the stupidest Republican political strategy so far this century. … Boehner is exactly right. This whole thing is a scam. The only people really talking up impeachment these days is the White House and Democrats.” http://bit.ly/WMWj3Q

--HOW IT’S PLAYING: L.A. Times 1-col. lead, “Talk of lawsuit rouses Obama backers: Democrats are already reaping fundraising benefits as the GOP moves to take the president to court,” by Michael A. Memoli … Chicago Tribune p. 1, below fold, “Impeachment talk pays off for Dems: Speaker Boehner hoped a suit would mobilize the party base. Suing Obama may backfire on GOP,” by Michael A. Memoli.

--“The Untapped Secrets of the Nixon Tapes,” by Evan Thomas in The Atlantic.com: “Nixon taped roughly 3,700 hours of his conversations as president. .... Two tapes-based books published this summer … go a long way toward showing Nixon’s underappreciated geopolitical genius and how he became the victim of his own emotionalism. The Nixon who emerges from Luke Nichter and Doug Brinkley’s massive (700-plus pages) ‘The Nixon Tapes,’ a collection of transcripts from 1971 to 1973, is at times profane and raw. ... But there is no doubt that he is in charge—ruthlessly so, exploiting rivalries between his aides. He seems to delight in secrecy and in playing the great game of power diplomacy.” http://theatln.tc/1Ax0oIA

POLITICAL HISTORY – 10 YEARS AGO TODAY: N.Y. Times banner, “KERRY ACCEPTS NOMINATION, TELLING PARTY THAT HE’LL ‘RESTORE TRUST AND CREDIBILITY’: Invoking His Past, He Vows to Command ‘a Nation at War,’” by Adam Nagourney in Boston … Sidebar, “Strong Show Of ‘Strength’: Speech to Big Audience As a Test of Leadership,” News Analysis by Todd S. Purdum in Boston.

2014 -- DEMS BEG FOR MORE FLOTUS TIME ON TRAIL -- Edward-Isaac Dovere: “Michelle Obama is the most popular member of the Obama administration, and Democrats say she’s the one they want to see more of in the midterms. … She can bring the Obama brand without the baggage … But her distaste for politics and fundraising is well-known, and her relationships with members of Congress don’t tend to be extensive. She has met donors only a couple of times and filmed a commit-to-vote video she put out Sunday for the [DCCC]. … Her husband, by contrast, has held four dozen fundraisers so far … ‘She has the opportunity to maintain the hope and the idealism that so many of us had during the 2008 and 2012 elections,’ said Casey Mann, the Democratic Party executive director in North Carolina …

“[O]peratives expect her to follow her 2012 model and stick to get-out-the-vote and voter registration events rather than engage in much outright campaigning. … The list of places where Democrats think the first lady could be influential … is very long: governors races in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin. They also include Senate races in Iowa, Michigan, Georgia, Louisiana, even Kentucky. … House races just about everywhere. … ‘[S]he connects with the very voters that we need — women, African-Americans, young people, Hispanics,’ … said DCCC Executive Director Kelly Ward. …

“[A] number of leading Democratic strategists read her limited involvement in the 2014 campaigns as a sign that she doesn’t think her party can take the House or break through the gridlock in the Senate, and that it wouldn’t be worth suffering through campaigning and taking time away from her daughters over the end of summer vacation and the beginning of the new school year. … Over the past week, she appeared at [DNC] events in Chicago and Washington … Nearly two months later, they’re still raving about her appearance at a Boston DCCC fundraiser, where people waited for hours, through a long line of speakers and gaps between speakers, for her to finally take the stage.” http://politi.co/WMRZBG

-- “Activists plan to use voter-ID info to boost N.C. turnout,” by Maggie Haberman: “The voter participation project RuralVotes is leading an effort in North Carolina to boost turnout among nearly half of the more than 300,000 voters who live in harder-to-reach areas by informing of them of the state’s new voter-identification laws. … RuralVotes president Deb Kozikowski ... pointed to a study conducted by turnout expert Donald Green … [that found] ‘informing low-propensity voters of a new identification requirement raises turnout by approximately one percentage point.”

EZRA KLEIN, “A stunning graph on how money polarizes politics”: “The chart … shows what most people intuitively know: the small minority of people who fund American politics are much, much more politically polarized than the vast majority of people who don't contribute to campaigns. … But what happens next … [is] politicians have to appeal to the people who fund their campaigns. The people who fund their campaigns really believe the other party is terrible. And so spending a lot of time working across the aisle or questioning your party's political strategy is not going to make your donors very happy.” See the graph:http://bit.ly/1o1uONn

WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE: As Obama announced at a House Democratic Caucus meeting on July 16, Jonathan “Jon” Samuels will leave the White House on Friday after six years in Legislative Affairs. Jon is moving home to Chicago. Alejandro Pérez replaces him as Deputy Assistant to the President and House Liaison, reporting to White House Legislative Director Katie Beirne Fallon. Pérez, in Leg Affairs since 2009, is White House liaison to House Ways and Means and Education committees, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Before joining the administration, Pérez was House floor director, as senior staff member to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Pérez was executive director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and worked for Catholic Charities, Immigration Counseling Services in Dallas, the Austin-Travis County Office of Refugee Services, and the United Farm Workers in Austin.

--Leader Pelosi: “Alejandro's relationships on the Hill stretch back nearly fifteen years. He is an energetic, experienced and well-liked figure who is deeply versed in the workings of the House and the priorities of our Caucus.”

--House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer: “Alejandro will continue to serve the President, the Democratic Caucus, and the American people well in his new role. I also want to thank departing Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Jon Samuels for his service, and I know that Members across our Caucus and across the aisle join in wishing him well.”

**A message from the National Retail Federation: Meet America’s Retail Champion Art Potash. As CEO of Potash Markets, a 64-year-old small grocery chain based in Chicago, Art knows what it means to be a community retailer. 42-sec. video http://bit.ly/MeetArt #thisisretail **

--“[University of Chicago] IOP Announces Fall 2014 Fellows”: “ Kevin Bleyer, a multiple Emmy award-winning writer most recently with 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' … Megan McArdle, a columnist for Bloomberg View … Eliseo Medina, former Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) … Patrick Murphy, a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania [and] the first Iraq veteran to serve in Congress … Steve Schmidt, a Republican political strategist”. http://bit.ly/1o31h5Y

ABOUT LAST NIGHT – Manchester United played Inter Milan to a crowd of 61,238 at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. Unfortunately, the exhibition game was scoreless in 90 minutes but Man. United beat Inter 5 to 3 on penalty kicks. See a beautiful panorama shot of the stadium and field:http://goo.gl/1DGN7QAnd pic of Calynn Jenkins and POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman and POLITICO interns Jody Serrano and Amy R. Sisk:http://bit.ly/1xxERLC

TWEET DU JOUR - Grover Norquist ?@GroverNorquist “Its official. Samah and I are off to "Burning Man" this year. Scratch one from the Bucket List.”

DATA DU JOUR – “Obama's phone calls show urgency of world crises,” by USA Today's Gregory Korte: “Mounting crises … have driven a surge in President Obama's telephone diplomacy, as the president has made more calls in July to world leaders than in all but one month of his presidency, according to White House records analyzed by USA TODAY. … [So far in 2014] Obama: David Cameron: 6 … Angela Merkel: 14 … Benjamin Netanyahu: 3 … French President Francois Hollande: 6 ... Russian President Vladimir Putin: 9 ... Italy Prime Minister Matteo Renzi: 5”. Interactive graphichttp://usat.ly/1pE3ySc

PRINT-EDITION LEADS: NYT (2 cols.), “Paying Ransoms, Europe Bankrolls Qaeda Terror: Nations Are Said to Pay Tens of Millions to Free Hostages in Quiet Exchanges” (“Underwriting Jihad: The Abduction Trade”),” by Rukmini Callimachi in Bamako, Mali http://nyti.ms/1xy7Oah … WashPost (1.5 col.), “Gaza war hugely popular in Israel: PUBLIC SUPPORT IS BROAD AND GROWING -- Polls also find high approval of Netanyahu’s leadership” …

TOP TALKER – WashPost A1, cols. 1-4.5, “McDonnell defense tells of broken marriage: Ex-Va. first lady’s ‘crush’ on wealthy benefactor described,” by Matt Zapotosky, Rosalind S. Helderman and Laura Vozzella, in Richmond: “Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife on Tuesday unveiled an unorthodox defense to the federal corruption charges against them: Maureen McDonnell had a ‘crush’ on the charismatic executive who lavished gifts and cash on the couple. Maureen McDonnell’s intense — even romantic — interest in Jonnie R. Williams Sr. helps explain why she let him pay for expensive shopping trips and vacations for her and her family while she promoted a nutritional supplement he was trying to sell, defense attorneys said during opening statements.” http://wapo.st/1pE2IF3

WHAT HOLLYWOOD IS READING -- “Jay Leno Returns to NBC on 'Last Comic Standing',” by The Hollywood Reporter’s Ashley Lee: “Jay Leno returns to NBC on Thursday as the final mentor of its comedy talent show, ‘Last Comic Standing.’ The former Tonight Show host appears in the competition's ‘Title Round,’ during which the five remaining comics are surprised by host J.B. Smoove with a trip to Las Vegas to work with ‘one of the funniest comedians in the world.’ Leno is introduced by Wanda Sykes and is candidly asked questions about stand-up comedy.” http://bit.ly/1rEOVkj

SPOT ON -- “ Who Is Ex-BuzzFeed Editor Benny Johnson?” by Mediaite’s Eddie Scarry: “If you were to meet Benny Johnson, the former BuzzFeed ‘viral politics’ editor who was fired Friday for plagiarism, … [y]ou’d have found him to be a pleasant and polite guy; or you’d have thought he’s a little ostentatious; or you’d simply wonder if he’s gay. … Benny is not gay, as I’ve met his longterm girlfriend a number of times. But those other impressions are real. Benny is pleasant; he’s remarkably witty and notably well-dressed. … [A] former Johnson colleague offered this theory on why Benny would stoop to plagiarism: ‘He likely became too sure of himself, his abilities and his standing in D.C.’s very limited, navel-gazing world of journalism.’” http://bit.ly/UB60AE

MEDIAWATCH – NYT MAY OFFER SLIMMED-DOWN PRINT OPTION – Capital New York’s Joe Pompeo: “The New York Times is considering the introduction of a truncated version of its daily print edition at a discounted rate … The potential offering ‘would be significantly shorter than the current edition and offer a selection of the day's best content for roughly half the price,’ according to a recent reader survey … As with a standard print subscription, it would also come with unlimited digital access … Daily delivery of the full print edition costs $23.60 to $67.60 every four weeks depending on location and frequency.

“A shorter print option would dovetail with new digital apps the Times has been rolling out to cater to readers who aren't necessarily willing to pay for nytimes.com's full buffet of content, to which unlimited digital access begins at $15 a month. Those apps, such as NYT Now, which offers a curated stream of Times stories for $8 a month, aren't off to the most impressive start in terms of sign-ups. During the second quarter of 2014, the Times logged 32,000 new subscriptions across all of its digital offerings combined, putting the total number of people paying to read the Times on web browsers and mobile devices at around 831,000. …

“The survey also asked participants how likely they would be to ‘keep your print subscription’ if it came with perks like meet-and-greets with Times journalists and early-access to ‘sought-after restaurants, shows and events.’” http://bit.ly/1lcxcNb

--POLITICO’s RACHEL SMOLKIN TO CNN – John Harris, Danielle Jones and Rick Berke email the staff: “Rachel Smolkin, our managing editor and one of the journalists in our room that we most respect, … [is] going to become executive editor of CNN politics, and her last day is August 8. … Since her arrival in 2011, Rachel is one of those people who has made better everything she has touched -- from individual stories to our entire editing structure. … Rick will be taking the lead in the search to fill this opening. We will have news on this front before long.”

--NBC Newsgathering SVP David Verdi emails the staff: “Madeleine Haeringer has been promoted to Executive Producer of International News. … Madeleine will manage the overall editorial agenda for the network’s foreign news coverage, and identify and develop our long-range international story planning. … Madeleine spent more than a decade in the field covering wars, revolutions, and political transitions around the world. She was part of our award winning team covering the tumultuous events of the 2011 Arab Spring.”

SPORTS BLINK – “Tim Howard joins NBC Sports Group’s Premier League broadcast team” – NBC release: “Tim Howard, goalkeeper for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2014 and 2010 FIFA World Cups and for Everton in the Barclays Premier League, will join NBC Sports Group’s Premier League on-air team in a multi-year agreement … Howard will work up to 10 Premier League games this season, serving as game analyst in the booth or in an on-site studio for the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows. His assignments will be scheduled around Everton matches and will focus on top-tier games.”

--“Stephen A. Smith off air for 1 week,” – ESPN.com: “ESPN has announced that commentator Stephen A. Smith will not be appearing on ESPN2's ‘First Take’ or on ESPN Radio for the next week. He will return Aug. 6. In a statement to employees released Tuesday, ESPN president John Skipper said the following[:] ‘As many of you know, there has been substantial news coverage in the past few days related to comments Stephen A. made last Friday in the wake of the NFL's decision to suspend Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice … ‘We've said publicly and in this space that those remarks did not reflect our company's point of view or our values.’” http://es.pn/UK58Jy ...

--HuffPost, “Keith Olbermann's Powerful Speech About Lack Of Respect For Women In Sports Is A Must Watch ”http://huff.to/1nSQ1dP

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Kris Purcell is 35. He celebrated with tacos and bowling with Land campaign compadres. (h/t Kildea)

BIRTHDAYS: Jim Rutenberg! … Dave Kochel is 5-0, celebrating with a family dinner at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines (h/ts Tim Albrecht, Hohmann) ... Rebecca Kutler, executive producer of CNN’s “Crossfire” … CFTC Chairman Tim Massad (h/t Steven Adamske) ... Jonathan Spalter (h/t Teresa Vilmain) ... King Mohammed VI of Morocco is 51, and is marking the 15th anniversary of his ascension to the throne (h/t Jordana Merran) … Chelsie Gosk … POLITICO’s Tyler Weyant … Michael C. Short, RNC regional press secretary is legally 28, but acts 62. He will be celebrating from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. during the early bird special at the Sizzlin' Express on the Hill, so he can be in bed no later than 8:30 p.m. (h/t Sean Spicer) … Hispanic Leadership Fund president Mario H. Lopez …

**A message from the National Retail Federation: We set out on a road trip to find the most powerful retail stories across the U.S. These stories show how retailers, large and small, are creating jobs, driving innovation and giving back to the communities they serve. This is Retail Across America. nrf.com/retailacrossamerica #thisisretail Follow us on Instagram at @this_is_retail. **

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About The Author : Mike Allen

Mike Allen is the chief White House correspondent for POLITICO. He comes to us from Time magazine where he was their White House correspondent. Prior to that, Allen spent six years at The Washington Post, where he covered President Bush's first term, Capitol Hill, campaign finance, and the Bush, Gore and Bradley campaigns of 2000. Before turning to national politics, he covered schools and local governments in rural counties outside Fredericksburg, Va., for The Free Lance-Star, then wrote about Doug Wilder, Oliver North, Chuck Robb and the Bobbitts for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he nurtured police sources on overnight ride-alongs through housing projects. Allen also covered Mayor Giuliani, the Connecticut statehouse and the wacky rich of Greenwich for The New York Times. Before moving to The Times, he did stints in the Richmond and Alexandria bureaus of The Washington Post. Allen grew up in Orange County, Calif., and has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University, where he majored in politics and journalism.